Queen of Summer, King of Winter
by DiscordantSymphony
Summary: Princess Lara Za and her father, Prince Talthal Za, of the summer islands, are the last two survivors of their house and are forced to flee. To protect his daughter Lara's father places her with the Stark's to ensure her safety while he gathers the forces to return them home. Lara grows with the starks and finds herself falling for a certain red-haired stark.
1. Prolouge

Queen of Summer, King of Winter

Prologue.

Prince Talthal Za, of the summer islands, son of Prince Zaquel Za and Princess Xhata Za, was very afraid.

The rich jungles which he had spent so much of his boyhood running through, that had been such a place of fun and joy, was now a dark and dangerous place where any man with a spear could soon jump out of the thick brush and end his life in a bloody instant.

But if his life did end tonight he would not care. So long as his daughter would get a chance to live.

The new born babe in his arms was whimpering, perhaps attune to her father's anxiousness. It still struck him as odd that he was even a father at all, let alone taking his child on the run while his home, family and everything he had ever known burnt to the ground.

He still wasn't sure how it had happened but it had, he knew that his family had many rivals on the other islands but he always assumed that any trouble would've passed.

But this trouble had not, in matter of weeks his family had lost a great deal of land due to his older brother's foolish investments and gambles, the rival princes and princesses grew stronger and stronger and he watched as everything his family had built crashed down to the ground.

Ordinarily they would've been forced into exile but it seemed that one Prince's hate ran so deep that his family being forced to leave their home with nothing but the clothes on their back wasn't enough, he would settle for nothing but their lives.

He had awoken to the smell of thick, chocking smoke, the feel of an oppressive heat and the sound of screams that pierced the night air.

He still couldn't believe what was happening but there wasn't time to be paralyzed with fear, he had to get his daughter and flee while there was still time.

She may have only been born a few days before, coming out of her mother screaming and stained red, but she already had a tight grip on his heart that had refused to loosen. Her mother was gone, a whore that he had grown fond of and sent on her way as soon as she had recovered when it had become apparent that she had no interest in being there for the child.

He had managed to escape from his burning home, trying to pretend that he couldn't hear his father and brothers and mother crying out in pain and fear, but the Prince's men had seen him and chased him into the jungle but he was fairly sure that he had managed to lose them. But he still wasn't sure how long that would last for.

Talthal allowed himself a small sigh of relief as he realised that he was reaching the edge of the jungle and he could hear the sounds of the sea, the moans of passion in the back alleys and the bells of ships ringing in the far distance. He was almost at the harbour.

He picked up speed and ran for the edge of the jungle, he tightened his hold on the back and ran down to the harbour. His eyes widen as he saw who, and what, he was looking for right in front of him.

"Captain Saras! Captain Saras!" Talthal called as he saw the commander of his father's merchant fleet sitting around a barrel with four other men, drinking and laughing, the shadow of Saras's ship, _The Maiden's Treasure,_ overlooked them. Captain Saras was his father's most loyal friend and oldest friend and even when every single one of his father's merchants had abandoned them he and his crew had stayed on.

The man glanced up at the sound of his name being called and he then rose to his feet as he saw that his prince was the one calling for him. "My prince? I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting you. If I had been informed that you were coming I would've-

"There is no time for that! We must leave now!" Talthal shouted before he glanced back to the edge of the jungle, there was still no sign of the men that had been chasing but eventually they would figure out that he would head to the docks. "My father is dead as our my brothers and mother, our seat is burned to the ground and a Prince's men are after me, I am unsure as to which one."

Saras looked shocked and for some reason small which was hard for Talthal to believe, the man was twice his size and could probably crush his head like a grape. His dark skin seemed to have paled somehow. "Are you certain?" He asked, his throaty voice shaking with a combination of sadness, rage and fear.

"I am, please Captain we must go now!" Talthal urged as he glanced back again, this time he was fairly certain that he heard something coming this way. "Revenge can wait!"

Saras took a deep breath in and nodded, he turned to the men he had been sitting with and began to shout. "Don't just stand their you lazy bastards! Get up and on the boat and raise the anchor! We're leaving!" The men shot to their feet and ran on to the boat with shouting among them.

Saras lead Talthal on the boat and offered him his cabin, once they arrived inside he sat his prince down and told him to wait inside until they had left the dock.

A few moments after Saras left the cabin the ship began to sail away and Talthal sighed as he looked down his daughter and gently rocked her, he still hadn't given her a name. She had been born in a time of turmoil and while his parents and brothers had quickly grown to adore her there hadn't been time to give her a name.

"I shall call you Lara." He said with a sad smile, it had been the name that his mother had hoped to give to his younger sister before she had lost her. "I promise you little love, we shall be safe now. And we shall return and all of this will be yours!"

He bent his head and kissed her forehead gently. "This I swear to you."

End of Prologue


	2. Chapter 1

Queen of Summer, King of Winter

Chapter One

Lady Catelyn Stark sighed in bliss as she felt herself slowly becoming settled with the large bed beneath her, it had been a long day and she had been waiting to crawl into bed for most of it. Her husband slept next to her and was already snoring loudly and Catelyn couldn't help but smile softly. He had an even harder day then she had, he deserved a long rest.

She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes, allowing the sound of her lord husband's heartbeat to lull her to sleep.

She had maybe a few moments sleep when there was a loud hammering at the door, she didn't open her however until she felt her lord husband move from under her. "Is there any chance we could just ignore it?" She muttered tiredly.

"I'm afraid not my lady." Ned said with a soft chuckle before he stood up and gathered his clothes before putting them on. "Come in." He called loudly as he soon as he was certain that he was properly dressed and Catelyn was covered.

Maester Luwin walked in and bowed his head. "Forgive the intrusion my lord, my lady but something rather unusual has happened. It seems we have a late guest."

"Who is it?" Ned asked with a curious expression on his face, it was the middle of the night and it was a cold one even for the north. He didn't think anyone would be out tonight unless they absolutely had to be.

"He clams to be a prince of the summer isles, a Prince Talthal Za. He looks to be from the summer isles and his clothes are quite fine and I do not think him to be a con man." Maester Luwin suddenly looked very awkward expression on his face. "He...also had a very young babe with him my lord, a girl who looks to be around the same age as lady Sansa I did not think it wise for the babe to be out in the cold so I showed him to your solar, I hope you will forgive me for being presumptuous my lord."

"You made right decision wise Maester Luwin." Ned said firmly, he would not leave a young babe out in the cold. "Please return to the prince and tell him I will be with him in but a moment."

Luwin nodded and left the room as Catelyn stood up from the bed and walked over to her husband. "What do you think he wants Ned?" She had never met anyone from the summer isles before, she had read of them and been taught about them in her lessons but she know very little about the people.

"I am uncertain my love, so we had best go and find out." Ned said with a warm smile, Catelyn returned it and quickly pulled on her clothes and once she was fully dressed they left the room together, the lord and lady of Winterfell.

It didn't take them long to reach the solar and Catelyn had to admit she was struck by the man's appearance, she had always read that the men and woman of the Summer Isles had dark skin but she always imagined it to be like the skin of a man who had spent too much time in the sun, not the dark ebony that it actually was.

The prince was handsome was the second thing that struck her, he was tall maybe only an inch or two shorter than Ned and his clothes, riding clothes but very finely made, did little to hide the firm muscles.

"Lord Stark. Lady Stark. I can not begin to thank you for this kindness, you know very little of me or who I am and you still let me into your home, I owe you a great debt already." The prince spoke, his voice low and lyrical. He gazed down at the babe in his hands and smiled sadly. "A very great debt."

"We are glad to be of help Prince Talthal." Ned said as he approached the prince and looked down at the babe in his hands, Ned smiled and reached out to gently stroke the babe's soft hair. "She's very beautiful, has she a name yet?"

"Lara." Talthal said with a smile. "Princess Lara, I imagine."

"I have a new born daughter as well, her name is Sansa. She is our first girl as it happens." Ned said, not taking his eyes off the babe. "Tell me, do you have the same feeling of a tight grip on your heart that refuses to let go?"

"I hold out hope that it will loosen in time but I pray it never lets go." Talthal said and both men shared a chuckle.

"Might I hold her?" Catelyn asked.

Prince Talthal looked up before nodding with a warm smile. "I would consider it an honour my lady." He said before gently depositing the babe into Catelyn's waiting arms.

The babe had the same dark skin as her father and had warm brown eyes, unlike her father's sea green. Her mouth was set in a small pout but her eyes brightened as she looked up at Catelyn and she gently raised her arms up to her, perhaps to try and touch her face.

Catelyn smiled gently and pressed a kiss to one of Lara's hands before she began to hum gently to the girl. Ned and Talthal watched the sweet scene for a moment before they both sat down at Ned's desk. "Now, I assume that you didn't just come here to show off your new babe my lord."

"I am afraid that I did not, my Lord." Talthal said grimly. "I am afraid...that Lara and I are the last survivors of our family." Ned's face grew grim and Catelyn spun her around to stare at the prince with wide eyes.

"How did this come to be?" Ned asked.

"I do not know how much you know of the summer isles but the short story is that we have no unified government or a monarchy that you would recognise, I am only one prince of hundreds of princes. My father grew sick in recent years and his mind began to wander. My brothers assumed control of our seat."

"They made several bad investments and our family grew weaker and weaker over time, eventually we knew that we would be forced into exile."

"But apparently that wasn't enough for one of our families rivals, he or perhaps she I can not be certain, put my family home to the touch. I barely managed to escape with Lara and some loyal allies of my father." He sighed. "I told them to wait in a tavern we passed while I spoke with you."

"I am truly sorry for you loss Prince Talthal, but I am not certain what we can do for you." Ned admitted.

"I have come to beg a favour, I would ask that you take my daughter as your ward." Talthal said before he spoke again, not wanting Lord Stark to rush to decision. "I know that it is much to ask, I am stranger to you but stories of your honour have reached even the summer isles. I know my daughter would be safe with you while I gather the men we need to take back what is ours."

Ned sighed before he glanced over to Catelyn, wanting, needing to know what his wife thought of this. Catelyn stared down at the babe in her arms for a moment before she looked up at her husband and nodded.

"Very well Prince Talthal, she shall have a place here, a home for as long as she needs it." Ned said and Talthal sighed in relief so loudly that Ned almost mistook it for a sob.

"Thank you my Lord." Talthal said with wet eyes, he stood to his feet. "I am not for one for long goodbyes." He walked over to Catelyn and stared down at his daughter before gently pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Please, tell her that I will return for her as soon as possible."

"Of course." Catelyn swore and then, with a nod of his head, the prince was gone as sudden as he had came.

Ned and Catelyn shared a look before they left the solar, for all that it mattered they had a brand new child, Robb and Sansa, and Jon but only Ned thought of him, had a new sister and they had to find a place for her.

Because Ned swore that Lara Za would have a home here, and Eddard Stark always kept him promises.

End of Chapter One


	3. Chapter 2

Queen of Summer, King of Winter

Chapter Two

For the next several years Lara grew within the walls of Winterfell, she took lessons with Lady Catelyn and Sansa and later on with Arya, she leaned how to knit and sew and spin as well as the history of Westeros and politics. Many found her to be as beautiful as Sansa.

As she had grown in Winterfell she had become part of the Stark family even if she did not bear the name, she would listen to Old Nan's stories and have snowball fights with the Stark children and she was often allowed to eat at the high table which made her the envy of all the other wards.

Almost everyone made her feel welcome, like she belonged at Winterfell.

But there were some who didn't, her entire life she had been followed by whispers. Cruel giggles followed by comments about how she must never bathe to be so dirty, about how her lips must've been stung by a dozen bees. There were many times in her childhood when she had gone running to Lord Stark or Lady Stark with tears running down her cheek.

They had done their best to comfort her, often telling that others were just jealous of her beauty but no matter what they said they did little to stop the taunts.

But even so, for as long as she remembered, she had her champions to always come to her aid when she needed it the most. Jon and Robb had always been her closest playmates despite the fact she was nearly four years younger then them. There had been plenty of times where Lady Stark had been upset with her because she had gotten her dress dirty after playing with them.

She remembered one time when Robb had been a man grown for only half a moon when Theon had started to pick on her, she had tried her hardest to ignore it but Theon had just kept at it until Robb drew his hand back and punched Theon straight across the face, knocking him to the ground. "Shut up Theon!" He growled at him in his newly deep voice and then held her hand as he lead her away.

She imagined that was the moment she fell in love with him.

Robb was always the most handsome boy that she knew, with his red Tully hair and beautiful blue eyes that she could get lost in and his strong arms that looked like they would keep every bad thing ever away from her.

She sighed sadly as she imagined swearing her vows to him in the Godswood, she knew that could only be a dream as she knew that Robb would need to marry a bride from another great house to build an alliance.

She supposed that if her father fulfilled his promise to get enough men to take over the summer isles and declare himself king then she would be in a position to be married to Robb but she had long since made her peace with the fact that her father would not be keeping that a promise.

The last time she had ever seen her father had been when she had been a little girl of six and he had been in a bad way, the man had not looked like he had slept for a fortnight, he had large black bags under his eyes and his breath smelt of something horrible.

He had cried when he talked with her, he told her about her grandparents and her uncles and about how much they would have loved her and about how much he missed her and how beautiful the summer isles were, with flowers of red and gold and pink and colourful birds that could talk like a man.

After that he had left again, promising that he was getting closer to getting the men he needed and that they would be home before she knew it.

She didn't know how to tell him that she already was home...

He still sent her letters every now and then but that was the last time she had ever seen in person, the letters themselves often said the same thing. How much he missed her and to just be patient and he would be back for her.

The last letter had been a nearly year ago, she might not be as close to her father as she should be but she could not help but feel worried, perhaps she could ask Lord Stark to look into his whereabouts.

Lara shook her head to try and clear her mind of these upsetting thoughts before she looked back down at her needlework, it wasn't her best work by any means but it was at least a passable effort and it was a good way to kill the time.

Ordinarily she would either spend time with Jon and Robb or spend time with Sansa, but Jon and Robb had went off with their father to oversee an execution a few hours ago and she wasn't even sure if they were back yet and she would have no problem with spending time with Sansa it was who Sansa was currently with that made her hesitate.

Jenye Poole was in Lara's mind a complete and utter bitch, she was often the one who attacked her the most and made it hard to focus on any of her lessons when she talked about her to the other girls and laughed at her. Speta Mordane had often had to separate them in the past so they could get any work done.

She looked as her door suddenly burst open, Sansa ran in with a large grin on her face and Lara was surprised that she would willing just burst in, it wasn't very ladylike and Sansa would never do anything unladylike unwillingly. "Sansa? What's wrong?" She asked as she placed her needlework to the side.

Sansa ran over and took Lara's hands. "Lara! The king is coming! And the queen! There going to come and Father's been named hand of the king and he's going to King's Landing and he's taking both of us with him." A heavy frown appeared on her face. "Arya has to come as well but I suppose I can't have everything."

"Why is the king coming here?" Lara asked with a raised eyebrow, she knew that the King and Lord Stark were old friends but they hadn't seen one another in years. It was highly unlikely that King would just randomly decided to come on a visit. She then suddenly realised what Sansa had just said.

"Your father's been named the hand? What happened to Jon Arryn?" Lara asked and Sansa suddenly seemed to deflate a little bit and bowed her head.

"He's dead, apparently he caught a really bad fever." Sansa said quietly, her voice full of sadness. Sansa may never have meet the man before but it was clear that she was ashamed that she was so happy considering that the cause of her happiness was indirectly the result of someone else dying.

"These things happen." Lara said as she got to her feet and pulled her into a hug, "So, we're going to King's Landing togother? Should be fun!"

"I know! Think about it! All the lords and ladies and feasts and tourneys! I can't wait!" Sansa said and her dour mood suddenly disappeared. "We'll have so much fun! And think of the husbands we could find, I might marry the Prince! You know how close Father and the king are, I could be queen and you can be my lady-in-waiting!"

It was hard not to get caught up in Sansa's but something was holding Lara back. "I need to go and do something, do you know where Robb is?"

"I think he's in the training yard with Jon and Theon. Anyway, I will see you at dinner tonight." Sansa said before leaving the room, shutting the door gently behind her.

Lara took a deep breath before standing up and leaving the room, she needed to tell Robb...She just needed to tell him, especially given the fact that she knew that soon she would most likely be saying goodbye for good.

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Lara looked towards the area which held the training dummies, Robb, Jon and Theon were talking about something which she was sure Lady Catelyn would deem inappropriate for a lady to here. She took in a deep breath to gather her courage and walked over to the man.

Jon was the first to notice her and he gave her one of his small, soft smiles. "Hello Princess." He said and Lara had to roll her eyes, ever since her father had visited he had called her princess in front of everyone because she technically was a princess, if only in name.

It had always made her blush in embarrassment and Jon would not let her live it down. "Watch it Snow." She turned to look Robb who was looking on amused. "Robb, could we talk in private for a moment?"

"Course La-La." Robb said and Jon and Theon both laughed as Lara groaned, one of Sansa's first words was trying to say her name but she couldn't quite manage it so for the longest time she had been La-La and Robb would not let it die.

"Just come on." Lara said as she lead Robb away from Jon and Theon, trying to ignore the heated glare she felt Theon shooting into her back. She was not going to let him get to her.

As soon as they were a distance that Lara was sure that Jon and Theon, or anyone for that matter, wouldn't overhear. "So." Robb began. "What's wrong?"

"You know that the Hand of The King has died and your father is going to King's Landing to serve as the new Hand?" Lara asked and took a deep breath as she saw Robb nod. "Well, I am going to King's Landing with him. To live and probably find a match for me."

A look of surprise and something that Lara couldn't identify appeared on Robb's face. "Oh." Why was the one word the saddest word that Lara had ever heard come out of Robb's mouth? "I knew that Father was going and he was taking Arya and Sansa but I didn't realise taking you as well, is your father okay with this?"

"I've not seen or heard from my father in years, he could be dead for all we know and your Father is my...foster father, I can't stay here for the rest of my life without a good reason and...at the moment there isn't one." Lara said and again another look appeared on Robb's face, if she didn't know better she would say that it was a look of utter hurt that was soon replaced by anger.

"Oh, well if there's nothing here for you then." Robb spat and Lara had to take a step back, she didn't think she had ever seen Robb this angry. "I hope you'll enjoy your new life in King's Landing!"

What was happening? When did this suddenly go wrong? "Robb, I didn't mean-" But it was too late, Robb had already stormed off back to Jon and Theon and said something to them before he stormed away from the training grounds. Theon shot a smirk to her and followed after him while Jon shot her a confused look before following after them.

Lara sighed and buried her face in her hands, of course she had screwed it up.

There was nothing she could do about it now, she know how Robb got when he was angry and she would need to wait before she could even try to speak to him.

She sighed again and started to make her way back inside, one way or another she needed to tell him how she felt.

She couldn't let it go unsaid no matter what.

End of Chapter Three

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	4. Chapter 3

Queen of Summer, King of Winter

Chapter Three.

Ever since their fight Lara had been avoiding Robb, she didn't want to make things worse and she wasn't sure how she could make things better so giving him his space seemed like the best option. Most of the time she had been spending with Lady Catelyn and Sansa in making sure that the castle was ready for the royal family who would be arriving in but a few weeks.

It was long and tiring work but at the end of it she couldn't help but feel proud of herself, the King and Queen would go away talking about this feast for the rest of their lives if they had done this right. She smiled from the table she was sitting at as she watched the servants laying out the food, everything was going to be fine.

"Lara, might I have a word?" Lady Catelyn said as she walked over to her and Lara bowed her head and nodded, she would never say no to Lady Catelyn, she couldn't really. She had taken her into her home, a complete stranger and she would never deny her anything.

"Of course Lady Stark, what would you like to speak about?" Lara asked, Catelyn smiled and gestured for her to follow her. The two women walked out of the great hall, taking care not to bump into anyone, they were still very hard at work and neither she or Lady Stark wanted to get in there way.

She walked with Lady Catelyn deeper into the castle until they arrived in her sitting room, a pot of mint tea and some thick slices of bread with a small jar of raspberry jam and a few small apple cakes. Once Lady Catelyn sat down Lara followed suit and only took a slice of bread after Lady Catelyn took one.

Lady Catelyn opened the jar and dipped a small silver knife into the jam and pulled it back out before putting a very thin layer of jam on top of the bread, it would be unladylike to put too much jam on the bread, Lara thought as she took the knife when Lady Catelyn handed it to her and spread about the same amount of jam on her own slice, she was never sure why but always when she was in Lady Catelyn's presence she was always second guessing her own manners, maybe it had something to do with the fact that she had ruined a great deal of her dresses when she was a child.

She was always of graceful and kind, a proper lady and no matter how hard she tried she always got the feeling that she was never quite good enough, it was nothing that Lady Catelyn had ever done, she was always welcoming and kind and the closest thing to a mother that she had ever had and she loved her as a daughter would love her mother even though she had never said anything about it.

"Thank you for coming to talk with me, I wanted to thank you for all the hard working you've been doing in helping me prepare for the visit of the royal family, I don't think I would've been able to do it without you." Lady Catelyn said as she delicately nibbled at her bread, Lara knew that she didn't mean it, she had been arranging feasts for guests for years before Lara was able to help but the sentiment was appreciated.

"It was no trouble Lady Stark, I am always glad to be of any help to you." Lara said as she took a large chunk out of her bread with single bite, it might not have been very ladylike but she had actually missed breaking her fast as she wanted to make sure that everything was going well in preparing for the feast so she would be able to live with not looking like a lady as she eat this one time.

Catelyn hummed and the two women were silent as they finished of the rest of their bread, Catelyn picked up the pot of mint tea and poured some of it in to two cups, she handed one of the cup's over to Lara and picked up the other one. "I spoke with Robb the day before last, I've noticed that he seemed quite a bit upset recently so I wanted to find out what was wrong, like any man he said there was nothing wrong but I know my son, and I know you. You lived here since you were a baby."

Lara bit her lip and Catelyn smiled gently. "I am not a blind woman, I've seen how you look at my son and I see the way that he has looked at you." Lara looked up in shock and Catelyn laughed, a gentle noise. "I am afraid that neither of you are very subtle, though apparently to one another you are."

The older woman sighed sadly and reached out and gently took Lara's hand, her blue Tully eyes were sad and she tried to keep her smile on her face but it was clearly becoming weary. "If things were different, then I would have no issue with Robb marrying you, of calling your my daughter in name as well as in everything else. But Robb will be the lord and he must marry a bride that will gain him strong alliances."

"And that isn't me, I have nothing to offer." It was true, that was the absolute worst thing about it. It would be so much easier if Lady Catelyn was trying to be cruel, if she had a problem with her as a person or because of the colour of her skin but it wasn't anything to do with that, Lady Catelyn had always treated her as one of her own and she had always been very stern to anyone who mocked her for her skin, it never stopped the taunts for more than a few weeks at a time but it at least gave her some peace.

No, the truth was she didn't have anything to offer Robb. For all her father's talk of reclaiming their home he had not done it yet, he had sworn to come for her when he had and there had been no sign of him for years, she had a name but who in Westeros had heard of the royal house of Zha? Not many she would imagine as most of the people of Westeros were only barely aware that the Summer Islands existed.

More than likely when she did get married, and it would be no fault of Lord Stark who she knew would do his utter best to get her the best possible match, it would be to a fourth cousin or a ninth-born son of some great house where she would fade away.

But in all honesty that did not matter to her, she could be married to a sheepherder or a guard of low house or even a fishmonger and she would not mind one whit, so long as that guard or sheepherder or fishmonger was Robb.

But that was never going to happen.

"You will be leaving Winterfell very soon, more than likely you will never see him again. I can not tell you how to feel or how to cope with your feelings but if you would hear my advice then I would recommend that you speak with him and try to mend your fences, do not let your last memories of Robb be of an argument you had with him." Lady Catelyn suggested and then she sighed softly.

"I am going to tell you something that I have never told anyone, you know that I was not originally supposed to marry Lord Eddard? I was going to be married to his older brother Brandon." Lady Catelyn informed her and Lara nodded, she had heard a story similar to this one, once or twice in the past.

"Well, that obviously did not end up happening. The Mad King killed him and I was betrothed to Eddard, but before that...there was a boy, Petyr, he had been a very good friend to me but he wanted something more, he protested the match between Brandon and I and he challenged Brandon to a duel, Brandon wasn't the sort to back down from any challenge so he agreed to it."

"Before the duel started I begged Brandon not to kill him, Petyr was my friend and I loved him like a brother even before I had a true one. I did not want him to die do to some folly. I would never forgive myself, regardless Brandon agreed."

"It ended about as well as Petyr could of hoped, Brandon didn't kill him but gods the way he struck him, I thought he might've killed him at first. Later on that night I was furious, he had given me his word but he only laughed at me and told me that he had kept his word, he promised that he would not kill Petyr, he said nothing about not maiming him." Lady Catelyn said and Lara saw something burn behind her eyes, it almost looked like fury.

"Now many people know this story but not what happened the morning after, a lady had told me a story that Brandon was taking other women to his bed, I approached him and he said that he was, I was furious." Catelyn admitted before carrying on. "I know no names nor did I particularly want to know them but at that moment I realised that I for perhaps the first time, finally understood the man I was to marry."

"Brandon laughed at me and told me I was overreacting, that they were simply whores and it did not matter. That day he left and he never came back, he received word that his sister had been taken by Prince Rhaegar and he rode to King's Landing to demand her back." Catelyn sighed heavily and brought up her hand to rub at her eyes.

"I was not wrong for being angry, but my last memories of Brandon are stained by anger and hurt and mistrust. There is nothing worse than those being the last sort of memories you have of a person, but you my dear are lucky. They do not have to be your last memories." Catelyn said before she stood from her chair and looked down at Lara. "I shall leave you to think about what I have said but I would implore you to think hard, and I hope you make the right choice."

And with that Lady Catelyn was gone, leaving Lara alone in her sitting room with only a mind full of swirling thoughts for company. She was right, she was never going to be with Robb but she could spend her next few weeks with him and be happy rather than spend them alone and regretting every time she had the opportunity to speak to him and didn't.

With newfound determination Lara stood from her chair and left the sitting room, walking through the grey stone corridors of Winterfell and climbing several flights of stairs until she arrived in front of the door of Robb's chamber, she rapped her door against the hard wood of the door and it swung open, Robb's eyes, the same colour as his mother's, widen in surprise as he saw her.

"May I come in?"

End of Chapter Three

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	5. Chapter 4

Queen of Summer, King of Winter

Chapter Four.

Lara was trying her hardest not to panic as she sat down on Robb's bed, she had mustered all the courage she had in her but now that she here it seemed to have deserted her as soon as she had stepped into his chambers, had the room always been this small? Had it always been this warm because as well as she could remember the room had never been one of the warmest in Winterfell, he might look more like a Tully but he had always been a Stark at heart.

At the very least Robb seemed to be as nervous as she did, it was odd to see him like this. He had always seemed so strong to her, her protector and her warrior. When ever she prayed to the Seven in Winterfell's little sept alongside Lady Catelyn and Sansa, she always imagined the Warrior as looking like Robb, being able to beat any challenger and defending everyone.

Perhaps it should worry her, how much of her thoughts, how much of her life, seemed to resolve around this one man. But it didn't worry her, no thought of Robb had ever scared her. The thought of Robb had always brought her such comfort.

She could remember a time when she had been little more than a babe, a great storm had been raging over Winterfell and with each crash of thunder she had cried out in fear. She remembered that Old Nan had always told her that thunder was the sound of the gods, the old gods of the forest, doing battle with the Seven to stop them from taking the North as they had taken all the other kingdoms.

It did little to comfort her.

Robb had come to her in the night, he had slipped into her room like a shadow and she nearly screamed again when she saw him sitting on her bed. The room was so dark that she had not been able to make him out and all she saw was a dark shape on her bed. She recognised it was him by his voice before she screamed however, and she was glad of it.

If Theon had heard that she had been screaming because of something as silly as a storm then she would never hear the end of it, if he heard that she screamed at Robb then the teasing would never end.

Thankfully, Robb had no intention of telling anyone of her little shame. He had come because he knew that she would be scared, she remembered that she had been glad of the darkness then as it meant that he couldn't see her blush. She remembered asking him how he could possibly know something like that.

And he had told her that he knew because he was scared too. He told her that Sansa had been taken to their parents room and was sleeping with them tonight, his mother had asked if he wanted to come but he had lied and said no because he didn't want her to be alone all through the night.

She had never loved him more than in that moment, she knew that Lord and Lady Stark loved her in a way but there were as likely to let her sleep in their bed at night as they would Theon or Jenye. And so, the two of them had sat together all through the night, telling one another stories. They spoke of Aemon the Dragonknight and Florian the Fool and Jonquil.

They spoke and laughed and sung until the sun rose on Winterfell, brighter than any she had ever remembered in all of her time in Winterfell, and it caught his blue eyes them shine and made red curls glow, she had cared for him a great deal before then of course, she might have even loved him even that far back even though she was far too young to truly understand the concept but that moment was the first time that she had ever thought that he was beautiful.

There had been plenty of times since that she thought of him as beautiful, as he was. He was so, so beautiful. But he was never hers, he never could be. She didn't need Lady Stark, who told her gently or Theon, who told her cruelly, to tell her that. She had always known.

But in her heart she had always held on to hope that the day would come when he would, she had prayed to the Maiden to make her more beautiful, she had prayed to the Father that her own would succeeded and she would be a princess in more than name and then Lord Stark would be able to betroth her and Robb together.

Neither of her prayers ever seemed to be answered, plenty of people called her beautiful but never beautiful enough it seemed and there had been no word from her father for over a year.

And now, her hope had to leave her heart. Robb would be the Lord of Winterfell and she would be going south, most likely she would wind up being married to a minor lord or to a landed knight. She was certain that whoever she would marry would wind up being a good man, Lord Stark would make certain of that and Sansa would as well considering that she would be the queen one day, and she would try to be happy with him, try to love him and do her duty like she had always done.

But he wouldn't be Robb, it wasn't fair or right but there it was. Whoever she married no matter how kind or gentle or handsome or brave would not be Robb. And that was as damning as a kiss from the stranger.

She was brought out of her dark and dreary thoughts when Robb sat down next to her and offered her a nervous little smile which she returned, she tried to think of what exactly to say, she realised now that she really hadn't thought of what exactly she had planed to say to him now that she thought of it. She had simply wanted to say something before she was gone.

"I'm sorry." Robb's voice nearly caused her to jump but she managed to stop herself from doing so, she locked eyes with Robb and she could see that there was indeed true regret in those beautiful Tully eyes. "I shouldn't have yelled at you, I didn't mean to. I just...the thought of never seeing you again, it hurts. It hurts a lot."

"It's alright, I didn't mean what I said about there being nothing here for me. Well, no. I meant what I said but I did not mean for it to upset you." Lara whispered as she reached out and took Robb's hand.

Robb smiled at her, then he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. At first Lara was too shocked to do anything and thus simply sat there as Robb kissed, was she dreaming? She had certainly dreamt of something like this before but if this was a dream then it was far too similar to the real world, no dream she ever had before had ever felt like this.

Still in her shock she did nothing and then Robb pulled away, his blue eyes were wide with disbelief, as if even he could not believe what he had done, and regret. Seeing that in his eyes made her wonder if this was actually a nightmare instead of a dream. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have done that I just-"

Lara leapt forward and slammed her lips to Robb's, more to stop him from finishing that sentence rather than to kiss him again although she certainly did not mind that part, Robb let out a gasp of surprise for a moment before he wrapped his arms around the small of her back and Lara shivered, she always wanted to feel them holding her and she was not disappointed, not in the least.

For a time that seemed both so long and far, far too short at the same time, the two of them laid together kissing one another and enjoying each other. Lara laid herself so she was now at Robb's side and cupped his face and kissed her again.

"I...know we shouldn't have done that but I'm glad we did." Robb said in between the kisses he placed on her lips and Lara paid them all back in full, unable to stop herself from smiling.

Her smile fell when she remembered that it didn't matter, it didn't matter at all because she would still have to leave. She watched as Robb's smile slipped away and the light in his eyes faded just a little as well. "I'm not going until after the King comes, we have time."

"Not enough." Was all that came out of his mouth.

Lara had nothing to say to that, it wasn't anywhere near enough time for them. "We'll live it, will make every second one to remember."

That caused Robb to smile and he leaned in to press another gentle kiss to her lips. "We will."

End of Chapter Four.

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	6. Chapter 5

Queen of Summer, King of Winter

Chapter Five.

Lara sighed as she relaxed against Robb's bare chest, listening to his heart beat. She didn't want to move even though she knew that she would have to, if anyone found her in bed with their lord's son then it would not end well for her. Lord Stark had never been anything but kind to her but if word made it back to him then he would have no choice but to send her away, though she knew that he loved her well.

It wouldn't matter that they hadn't done anything, all that would matter was that if she had been seen then her reputation would be ruined and if there was even a chance that she was carrying Robb's babe outside of marriage then it would stain her for the rest of her days, she wouldn't be thrown out into the cold but she would have to be sent far away.

She wouldn't be thrown out into the cold to fend for herself, he would be sent off to another keep, perhaps she would be sent to Bear Island to live with house Mormont which she had to admit that she did not think that she would mind that. She had bonded quite closely to Lady Maege Mormont's eldest daughter and heir Dacey Mormont, a strong and beautiful girl who always seemed to be in such control of everything around her. Lara remembered the first time she had met the girl, she, her mother and her younger sister had arrived at Winterfell under the guise of a friendly visit.

There was nothing friendly about it, oh the Mormonts were loyal to House Stark and friendly people themselves but they did not just suddenly decide to drop everything and pay them a visit. Lady Maege had wanted to see if there was a chance of Dacey and Robb being wed, the thought of it still caused Lara's blood to boil. Dacey had been closer to Robb's age than Lara had been at the time and for the weeks and weeks that the Mormonts had been guests it seemed that the two of them had been inseparable, always playing or hiding in the godswood with one another.

She had hated it, at the time it had felt like she had been losing him but she didn't know what she could've done about it. Lara had never truly liked boyish pursuits like Arya did and Dacey was so good at climbing and running and jumping and fighting, the worst thing was that she fitted in a dress and in their lessons with the septa, as easy for her to be a lady as she could be a boy.

She was so perfect that Lara hated her more than anyone in the whole world.

That had changed during the last few days of the Mormont's vist when Theon had seemed to notice how miserable she was and didn't seem content to just let her stew in it, he wanted to make her feel worse. Theon had always hated her, when she had been young she had never understood why. She had never done anything to Theon, she barely ever spoke to him.

She learned what the problem was soon enough, it was partly due to the fact that she never spoke to him. They were both wards of Lord Stark and thus they were on a similar social status. The problem became that despite the both of them having that same social status Lara had been accepted by Lord and Lady Stark in a way that Theon had never been. She was allowed to sit at the high table on the dais more often than not, she spent more time with Lady Stark and Sansa and Arya, she was one of Sansa's bed maids and thus shared a room with her while Theon had to sleep on a different floor in the keep.

Lara could understand why that made Theon bitter and she might have showed him more kindness if he had ever showed any to her in turn, she had tried to be nicer to him at the start but every single attempt had been rebuffed and mocked in equal turn and after a while she could not find it in herself to continue to try. She felt sorry for Theon, but that did not mean that he had the right to be cruel to her and nor did she have to put up with his cruelty.

Theon made her cry that day with how cruel he was being to her, he knew how she felt about Robb and that had always been something he had mocked her for, never in Robb's hearing however. Just as she was about to stand up and run off, perhaps to find Lady Stark and cry into her skirts as she often did when she was upset, Theon was tackled into the ground and had his face shoved into the dirt.

It had happened so fast that at first she thought it had been Robb who had done, he was the only one who would come so quick to her defence and the only one who would dare to hit Theon when he was being cruel but as she had looked at the person who had tackled Theon she realised that it wasn't Robb. Not unless he had grown his hair and somehow changed it's colour from Tully red to brown and taken to wearing dark green dresses.

She had never seen a lady act so violently before that it honestly scared her, she had heard tales that the Mormonts were skin changers and could turn into bears with a thought and even when they walked as men did they had the fury and the strength of a bear and at the moment she could have believed it.

But after Dacey had stood up from Theon, who was groaning and cradling his face, she turned to her and asked her if she was alright, holding out a hand for her to take. Lara had taken it and smiled, thanking her for her bravery and for defending her. And from that moment on all her anger at Dacey had drained away, and Lara was pleased to call her friend.

Of course neither Dacey's mother nor Lord Stark were very pleased with her, Theon was a glorified hostage after all and the only assurance they had that his father would not attempt to attempt another rebellion and if a single hit of Dacey's had landed too hard and it had killed him then it would have been war, and if it had been found out that a Mormont girl had killed the heir to the Iron Islands then Bear Island would suffer the worst of it.

It was only now that she a woman grown looking back that she realised just how close it had been to war, if Theon had written to his father then it could have quite easily come to war but at the time she hadn't truly been able to comprehend what that truly meant. She had been a silly little girl and all she knew of war and battle was from stories and songs, every death was glorious and the result of an act of true bravery or the act of love to save someone else.

She remembered that for almost five moons after the Mormonts had left to return to Bear Island that Theon had not been allowed to write to his father or his sister, Lord Stark had put it under the guise of a punishment for being cruel to her and for getting into fights. Eventually however the punishment had to be lifted and Theon was allowed to write to his father and sister again as no doubt Balon Greyjoy was becoming suspicious that he had received no word from his son and heir and the only assurance he had of his well being were the letter that Lord Stark had been sending to Pyke.

Theon had been so glad that he was allowed to write to his home again that Lara doubted he even considered telling his father what had happened, if only because he didn't want to tell him that a girl in a dress had bested him. Still, she would be surprised if Maester Luwin hadn't carefully read every single letter that Theon had passed into his hands before sending it off.

Even though Dacey had been chastised and the Mormonts had been sent back to Bear Island after another three days at Winterfell, Dacey and Lara had become fierce friends and though seeing her in person had become something of a rarity they often wrote to one another and had continued to do so as they became woman and still did so even now.

If she was sent to Bear Island then she would at least get to see Dacey again and met the rest of her sisters, she met Alysane before of course as she had accompanied her sister and her mother to Winterfell but she had been little more than a babe at the time and she had been wild as a bear, spending all her time running around and slipping free of her mother and their guards. Lara didn't try to get to know her at the time.

She knew that Dacey had three other sisters, Lyra, Jorelle and Lyanna. She had heard a little about them from Dacey's letters, Lyra had apparently taken to trying to train a Bear cub to fight with her and had chosen a Morningstar as her weapon and was already taking on duties to watch the coast to make sure that no Ironborn would come raiding.

Jorelle on the other hand was apparently turning out to be a perfect little lady which was unusual for the women of House Mormont as she also seemed to be showing no signs of any interest in martial pursuits and was much happier being armed with knitting needles and learning how to sing and manage a household then learning how to use a sword or a spear or a mace. She sounded a bit like Sansa to her, although Sansa didn't truly like learning how to manage a house nor did she like learning figures.

Lyanna had been her youngest sister and she had apparently been named for Lord Stark's sister, most likely to curry some favour with their liege lord but Dacey had written that it seemed a cruel name to give a daughter of house Mormont, Lyanna Stark had been known for being a great beauty and no Mormont had ever been a great beauty.

Lara had written back that she was certain that was not true and that Lyanna would grow to be a great beauty, not mentioning that she had always found Dacey to be extremely beautiful and that had been part of the problem when she had been here during Lady Maege's attempts to secure a marriage pact.

Apparently the youngest Mormont was as serious as a lord during war in everything she said and did and apparently her mother had jested that if they hadn't already had a Master-at-Arms at Bear Island then that already had quite a good candidate and she had already began her training with a mace.

She let out a breath of air and sat up, that would only happen if she was caught in his bed or in his room so the best thing to do was leave. She tried to stand up but as she did so she felt a hand grabbing her wrist and it pulled her back down to the bed, before she could say or do anything there were muscular arms encircling her middle and holding her close and lips at her ear. "Don't go."

"If I don't and I get found in here and your mother and father find out then they will send me away, maybe as far as Last Heath. Do you want me to be freezing?" She jested to try and keep her mind off how good it felt to be in Robb's arms, how right it felt. "Cause even here in Winterfell it's too cold for me."

"At least you would be here in the North, with me. Last Heath is closer than King's Landing is." Robb said and the bitterness in his voice surprised her. "Do you have any idea who you'll get married too? It won't be someone who deserves you, it'll be a landed knight at best."

"Robb, I'm a ward of a great house who's family is all but extinct. Most people in Westeros don't even know that we don't have a king in the Summer Islands. A landed knight is the best that I might be able to hope for." Lara said as she pulled away and turned to look into Robb's Tully blue eyes and once again she couldn't help but sigh as she realised just how beautiful they were, she reached out a cupped one of his cheeks with her hand. His pale skin feeling scratchy under her hand as she could feel the beginnings of a beard.

"Can we please not speak of this? There are weeks before we are to go to King's Landing, maybe even a moon if the king decides to stay at Winterfell longer than Lady Stark expects and perhaps even longer than that if the summer snows come and delay the royal host on the road. For now, I just want to be us and let the future be the future."

Robb nodded but Lara could still see that he was upset, she was upset as well but she was simply better at hiding it. She knew that she should have gone then but instead she simply laid back down on the bed and laid her head against Robb's chest, closing her eyes.

"I love you, do you know that? I love everything about you. I love your skin, and your eyes and your hair and your nose." Robb whispered as he began to press kisses to the top of her head and ducking down to press kisses to her nose and her eyelids as well. "If we could marry, then I would never stop giving you children and I would want all of them to look like you."

"Robb, please don't." Lara said as she pulled away from him as she felt tears burning at her eyes, she didn't want to think about that as it would simply be too painful. She stood up from the bed and turned to look at Robb as he sat up in bed, trying not to pay too much attention to the firm muscle that lay under the pale skin. "I don't want to think about that, it's too painful."

"But I do, I do more than anything." Robb stood up from the bed and walked around it to face her, Lara tried to walk away but was too quick for her and was soon cupping her face with both his hands so his blue eyes could look into her dark brown. "I love you, do you love me?"

"You know that I do."

"Then come with me right now to the godwood, we'll say our vows in front of the heart tree and then will be married." Lara stared at Robb as if he had suddenly turned into a giant wolf right in front of her and had savaged a thousand men, it seemed that Sansa wasn't the only Stark who seemed content to live in songs. It was a sweet idea, a romantic idea but it couldn't happen.

"Robb..." She began with a sigh, sounding for a moment like Lady Stark when she explained why Rickon couldn't have any more lemon cake. "I love you, I do and that's a sweet idea but you have to understand that won't work. Even if we did go right now and swore our vows then it wouldn't matter, your Father could just have it annulled."

"Not if we consummate it."

"Robb-

"No, listen to me! We say our vows to the heart tree and then we consummate it. We do that and then my father can annul it. I love you and I want this, more than anything." Lara stared into Robb's eyes and she saw the truth of that, he honestly was willing to go through with this and that made her sigh.

"Robb, listen to me. If we do that then yes, we might get married and your father might not be able to annul it but he will disinherit you. I can't offer you anything, I have no lands or soldiers that can come to your aid. My father could die tomorrow, he could be dead already for all I know. I am certain that I will never step foot on the Summer Isles, the northmen will never accept me. I am more southern than even Dorne. It can't happen Robb." She hadn't been able to stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks then.

"But..." Robb didn't seem to know what to say to any of that and he sound so pitiful and there were clearly tears in his eyes that he was trying his hardest not to let spill and Lara was certain that she could see his lips trembling, she leaned in a pressed a kiss to them and then pulled back.

"There's nothing more to say Robb, I am tired now so I am going to go to bed. I shall see you tomorrow." And with that Lara pulled away once more and turned on her feet and quickly walked out of the room, closing the door behind her and resting against it. She nearly jumped out of her skin when in Robb's bedchamber she heard the sound of something smashing against the ground.

A part of her wanted to go back in and make sure that he was alright but she knew that she shouldn't, she let out a heavy sigh and began to walk down the corridors of Winterfell and before long she found her way back to Sansa's bedchambers. The other girl was currently at her lessons with Septa Mordane so the bed was quite cold as she crawled into it but at the moment she didn't much care.

Lara rested her head against the pillow and closed her eyes, allowing tears to run down her cheeks until she was so tried from crying that she fell asleep.

End of Chapter Five.

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 **For those who are confused as to why Lara was worried about Catelyn finding her in the same bed with Robb when she insisted that Lara go and speak with Robb and tell him the truth about her feelings, that's because Cat wanted her to have some closure, not because she thinks they should be together.**

 **Love,**

 **Doctorwhofan12345**


	7. Chapter 6

Queen of Summer, King of Winter

Chapter Six.

The King was fat.

That was the first thing that Lara thought when she first laid eyes on Robert Baratheon, first of his name, King of the Andels, the First Men and the Rhoynar, lord of the Seven Kingdoms and protector of the realm. The demon of the Trident, a man who had fought a rebellion to win a crown and save his lady love from the man who abducted her and had ruled for nearly fifteen years...

And he was fat.

Lara knew she was being unkind, but they had all heard the stories about him. With his black hair, blue eyes and a body like a maiden fantasy Lara had always had something of a infatuation with him, while it had never matched what she felt for her Robb when she had been younger she had dream about marrying him.

The real thing in front of her was a disappointment.

As the King climbed down from his horse, Lara had to wonder if she had been a bit unfair, he wasn't fat but he had certainly gained a lordly give to him. His hair was as black and his eyes were as blue as Lara had been told of them and his face was one that had clearly been marked by laughter. He was still a handsome man.

He had fought in two rebellions, perhaps he had earned the right to simply have his children and grow fat in peace. Lara could think of worse things that you could spend the rest of your life doing. Regardless, he was the king and Lara had no right to judge him, she had to remember that.

The queen was more how Lara had always imagined her taller than most woman with golden hair that curled at the ends and fell all the way down to her back, green eyes stared out of a pale face and a smile played on her lips as she was helped out of the large and hulking wheel house, the wheels of which barely looked like it could hold it up when it was standing still, let alone when it was moving.

The royal children were with their mother, the eldest had the same golden hair and green eyes as his mother and came up to her shoulders, he had a swordbelt and Lara had to admit that she was surprised to see that sword that was sheeted in it seemed to be steel, the boy was younger than a bit by Robb but her love had been older than the crown prince of the Seven Kingdoms was now before Ser Rodrik had allowed him to use live steel.

Next was the princess of the seven kingdoms, she had all of her mother's beauty, a rug of golden curls falling past her shoulders and down to her back and she had the same green eyes as her mother though it seemed to Lara that her eyes seemed to have a little more light, a little more joy than her mother.

And then finally there was the third son, the spare to the heir. He was a small child and chubby, his hair was closer to white than the bright gold of his siblings. In his hands, a tiny black kitten rested and it's tiny tongue came out to lick the hands of it's master.

"Ned!" The Stag king roared as he stomped his way across the courtyard of Winterfell, Lord Stark rose to meet him with the proper courtesies but King Robert let out a bellowing laugh as he threw his arms around Lord Stark and patted him harshly on the back. "Enough of that shit Ned, I get enough of it back in King's Landing."

The queen seemed displeased at her husband's vulgar words but she said nothing as she approached, the king turned his attentions to Lady Catelyn whom he took into an embrace that lasted a little longer than strictly necessary and she couldn't be sure from where she was standing but she thought that she saw his hand dip below her waist.

The king then moved on to Robb who simply glanced him over, Lara had to admit that made her angry but she didn't say anything as he moved on to Sansa, called her pretty and then moved on to Arya.

After saying something to Arya the King stopped before moving on to Bran, looking into the second row where Lara was standing with Jon, Theon, Maester Luwin and Ser Rodrik. She knew that this was the place for castle men and wards to stand, bastards like Jon were better out of sight and she knew that Lady Stark had wanted him even further back but Lord Stark had only agree to putting him in the row behind.

Still, she felt for Jon as she knew that while Lord Stark was being kinder than most would to their baseborn children, she knew that it hurt Jon each time it was reminded to him that he wasn't a trueborn child.

The King's eyes landed on her and narrowed as he examined her, when she felt his eyes lingering on her breasts she had to remind herself that he was the king and not Theon Greyjoy, slapping him would probably not end very well at all for her. "Who are you then girl?" The king's voice was almost as deep as she had always imagined it to be, his arms still had muscle on them that could only come from lifting his fabled war hammer.

She tried to answer his question but all of a sudden her mouth felt dry and her tongue felt heavy, she never thought that she would actually have to speak to the King and now any words she might have had, the proper greetings and courtesies she had learned over and over again till she had been able to say them without even thinking now lay forgotten to her.

"Your grace, this is my ward Lara Za, of the Summer Islands." Lara didn't think she had ever loved Lord Stark more than when he quickly came to her rescue as he did.

"I can tell where she's from Ned, we have one of her sort back in King's Landing. He's a prince apparently but there all meant to be princes and princesses. He lost his seat and every moon or so he'll come to me and beg me for ships and swords so he can retake his seat. Jalabhar Xho. That's his name." He turned his attention back to Lara. "You know him girl?"

"I...I am afraid that I have not had the pleasure of that meeting you're grace, nor can I say I know of him. I have not been on any of the isles since I was a babe." The words finally came to her but they seemed clumsy, not at all like the practice perfection she was capable of.

She could swear that she felt Septa Mordane's disapproving gaze burrowing into her back.

"No honour girl, trust me. He's a well born beggar and little more than that. He can ask me as many times as he likes but the answer is always going to be the same, mind you if the girls of the Summer Isles are half as pretty as you then maybe I'll be giving him a different answer when we get back. It's been too long since I've had a good fight." The King's words did not flatter her, they just made her gut curl into a tight not.

But one could not disagree with a king so she put on her best smile, hoped it looked convincing, and gave him a small nod. She hoped that didn't mean she thought that she approved of the plan, she did not want to bring war on the Summer Isles, she may never have considered them her home but that didn't mean that they weren't someone else's and didn't want to burn anyone's home.

The king quickly turned his attention away from her and went down the rest of the line, Lara let out a small sigh of relief but it soon froze in her lungs when the Queen's beautiful green eyes landed on her and she saw that they were narrowed in distaste at her, the look only lasted for a moment but it seemed to her to be the longest moment of her entire life.

Soon King Robert ordered that Lord Stark take him down to the crypts, it wasn't her place to think on it but she knew that he wanted to see the Lady Lyanna's statue. Lara had snuck down into the crypts to see her with Jon, just once when they were both very small. She hadn't liked it down there, it was too dark and cold and she got the feeling that she got nowhere else in Winterfell, that she did not belong down there.

She has asked Jon if he had felt it too, he had cried and ran away and wouldn't speak to her for a fortnight. That was the first time she truly got the sense of what it must have been like for him, to be a bastard. In a way she had it better than Jon ever did, she was a ward but Lady Catelyn and Lord Eddard had both always been kind to her, had always treated her like she was one of their own.

Jon never had that.

Those in the courtyard began to disperse somewhat, the queen's brother, a handsome man with golden hair that was almost as long as her's came up to her and lead her away, whispering something in her ear that made her smile. She truly was one of the most beautiful woman in the world, that smile could outshine in the sun even if they were all in the middle of Dorne.

It was a shame that it took a man like the Kingslayer to place it on her lips and not her own husband.

Lara was drawn out of her thoughts when she felt a gloved hand coming down to take hers, she looked up and smile at the sight of blue Tully eyes that she adored. She would normally not be so comfortable with such a public display even though most everyone was going inside the main keep but in this throng no one was going to see them and unless Robb decided to kiss her right now then there was nothing at all to worry about.

She wished she hadn't thought that, now she thought of his lips pressing against hers and the feel of his smooth face against her, Tommy had sheered him good for the queen. She wasn't sure if preferred him with the beard he had begun to grow or without when she was kissing him, she supposed that she would have to check. "Hello."

"Hello." Robb said with a smirk as he stepped closer towards her, it took all Lara had not to kiss him right now until neither of them could breath. But she knew that she couldn't, it would just make it hurt more than it would when she left for King's Landing and it was already going to kill her. "Are you alright? That was unfair of the king to do, you had no reason to expect that he would speak to you."

"He's a king, aren't they always somewhat unpredictable? I am fine. He doesn't seem cruel nor he is a madman so when I go to King's Landing I won't be in any danger, not from him at the very least." Robb's face darkened when she mentioned King's Landing, they had not spoken of it since she had gone to his room but he knew that he was still angry and the thought of marrying her in the godswood had not yet left his mind, though he respected her wishes to not speak of it again.

"Can we walk? Most likely mother will have some task for me, entertain the Prince as like as not and I am not in the mood for that at the moment." Lara nodded and tightened her grip on Robb's hand, joining the large throng that was still entering the castle, taking a turn and walking into a quieter part.

They eventually found themselves on the covered bridge that connected the Great Keep to the Armoury, Lara sat down on the edge of a window that overlooked the courtyard and Robb sat next to her, he reached out and cupped her face and pressed his lips to hers.

She knew that it was stupid, anyone looking up at the covered bridge could see them together and they would tell either Lord Eddard or Lady Catelyn but at the moment she found that she did not care. She would never see Robb again soon enough so fuck the lot of them, they could let her have this.

Her hand came up to grasp red curls as she deepened their kiss, she found that she liked him clean shaven as well but she wouldn't mind him growing his beard back as well and kissing her. Either way it was Robb and she loved Robb, when he kissed her she came to life.

She didn't know how long they sat together like that, holding one another and kissing but she knew that when they finally pulled away her lungs were burning for oxygen. She smiled at him and blushed deeply as she played with a loose thread on her skirts. "That was lovely."

"It was, wasn't it? That's just how good I am." He said with an arrogant smirk and Lara tried to slap him, Robb caught her wrist effortlessly and his smirk grew. "Attempting to strike the son of your liege lord is high treason, there must indeed be a punishment for that I think."

"And how shall you punish me, my lord?" Lara asked with a smirk and then let out a sound that was a mix between a shirk and a laugh as Robb pulled her into her lap. "Robb! Let me go now!"

"Perhaps I shall be merciful and not punish you, perhaps I shall ask you to pay a toll. Twenty kisses and ten smiles, just for me?" Robb asked as he leaned up to kiss her but Lara pulled back and brushed her finger over his nose, she smiled as she saw his face scrunch up.

"I'd like to give you twenty slaps and ten hits on the back of the head, you could have done with more of them I think. Now, can you please let me go? My skirts are riding up." Robb let out a sigh but released her, Lara stood up and adjusted her skirts, letting out a sigh when she was finally more comfortable. "So, do you think that you will be married to Jalabhar Xho?"

It took all Lara had not to laugh at how Robb had pronounced the name, on one of the few times that her birth father had been present for more than a few days he had taught her how to properly pronounce all the words of the summer tongue, to saw Robb had butchered it would be...generous.

"I doubt it, you heard the king did you not? He's a penniless beggar, your father has always been kind to me. He will want to see me taken care of I think, I won't rise high in the world as a great lady but I will be comfortable enough, I should think." She said, trying to hide how much saying these words hurt her.

"It's a shame." Robb said as he stood up from the ledge, his eyes had darkened and they reminded Lara of a sea of choppy waters, harsh winds. "I would mind you marrying him, that would mean that you would be staying in King's Landing all the time and I would be able to see you whenever I wished."

"Robb...I beg of you, do not do this to me. It's hard enough, do you think that there is a day that goes by when I am not trying to think of a way around this? A way that we could be married?" Lara said as she felt her body carrying her forward. "I do, I try to stop but I can't. I want to marry you, I never want to stop giving you children. But I can't, we can't and you know that it's true. I beg of you, leave this now."

Robb looked at her like he was staring at a stranger, he opened his mouth to say something but before he could the sound of footsteps filled the empty air of the covered bridge. They both turned just in time to see Sansa come rushing down the length of the bridge towards them. Lara didn't think she had ever seen Sansa run before in her entire life, it was kind of a funny sight.

"There you both are, Robb. Father and Mother both want to speak with you, Lara. Mother says that when the sun starts to come down you're to come to her chamber and we're going to get ready for the feast together." Sansa said with a smile and Lara could not help but return it, her heart might be shattering on the ground into a thousand pieces but this was all of Sansa's dreams coming true, Lara would not ruin that for her.

Robb glanced at her for just a moment before he let out a sigh and followed Sansa away, once she was alone Lara sat back down on the window ledge and closed her eyes. The snowflakes outside landed against her face and the warmth of the castle caused them to melt her against her face, she couldn't tell the water apart from the tears.

End of Chapter Six

* * *

 **Another chapter done and dusted and I am quite proud of this one, we get to Robert's visit to Winterfell and some hints of conflict already. I am also quite proud of how I wrote the romance between Lara and Robb as I think that romance is one of weaker aspects when it comes to writing.**

 **I am also looking forward to writing more with Cersei as she's one of my favourite characters in both the show and the books.**

 **As always, please follow, favourite and review and I always love constructive criticism.**

 **Love,**

 **Doctorwhofan12345.**


	8. Chapter 7

Queen of Summer, King of Winter

Chapter Seven.

The air was filled with the smell of roasting meat, honeyed chicken, dark ale and sweet mead and the sounds of laughter and singing, she always loved when they had a feast. It felt like all of Winterfell had come together simply to celebrate being together. Lara was currently tucking into a chicken and kidney pie, the gravy was savoury and thick with onions, carrots and peas.

A cup of thick dark ale was clasped in her hand and she had took a deep sip of it, the thickness of it settling on her tongue in a way that she had learned to love. Lara could remember a time when her father had come to visit, she couldn't have been more than seven or eight and he had brought with him a small cask made of goldenheart wood and filled with a wine from the Summer Isles, a friend and loyal ally had smuggled it out for him and he was going to let her have a small taste.

Lara hadn't liked it, it wasn't that it had been bad or tasted unpleasant in any real way but it had almost been like drinking flowers and she found she preferred the heavier flavour of the Northen ale. She didn't tell her father that of course, she had loved him for the gift that he had brought her and she never got to see him, she didn't want to upset him so she had finished her cup and asked him for a second one with a smile on face.

But, her father wasn't here right now and she could have as much ale as she wished too. She wasn't as close to the doors as Jon was but she wasn't on the Dais either so she could drink as much as she liked if she truly wished too. Not that she wanted too, Lady Catelyn had always been kind to her and she didn't want to embarrass her, Lord Stark or herself by seeming drunken.

But no one could begrudge her a second tankard, she waved over one of the serving women, Daisy her name was, and soon she had another full horn. She had just taken a sip when a yelp made her turn around and she very nearly groaned in disgust as she watched Theon Greyjoy pull the laughing Daisy into his lap. An arrogant smirk on his face.

This was the one downside of being a ward, she was on the same standing as Greyjoy and thus she had to suffer him. He was at a different table but he was on the same level as her and that made her stomach knot with irritation. She turned her gaze on to the high table to see if anyone else had noticed what Theon was doing with the girl.

Lord Stark looked unhappy about something but that wasn't much help in indicating what he was thinking, Lara loved him but the man always looked unhappy. Lady Catelyn had a tiny frown on her face but from where she was sitting she wouldn't be able to get a clear look at Theon so whatever she was frowning about wouldn't likely be about how Theon was acting.

The King was deep in his cups and laughing as loudly as a storm, two serving woman in his wide lap and Lara realised that it was probably because of the King's actions that Lord and Lady Stark looked upset. But their disapproval was nothing compared too the Queen, whose eyes were narrowed at her husband in what Lara could only call the very deepest hate.

Lara couldn't deny that she felt sorry for the queen, it was bad enough for any noblewoman to know that her Lord Husband was taking other women into his bed but to see him dishonouring you right in front of your own eyes? Lara wasn't sure if she would be strong enough to endure it, let alone endure if it was someone like Robb who was doing it to her.

It had to hurt even more, to know that it was the king. Still, the queen said nothing. Merely sipped at her glass of Arbour Wine as she gazed firmly at her husband.

Lara turned her gaze from the Queen on to Robb, he looked as handsome as ever, his bright Tully eyes almost glowing in the light of the torches that were mounted in the wall scones. He was dressed handsomely, a new grey doublet slashed with black on the sleeves and black velvet trousers. Handsome garments that made the handsome man who wore them even more so. He caught sight of her looking at him and smirked down at her as he took another sip of the wine.

How could someone she loved so much be so infuriating? Still, she was glad that he was in a better mood than the last time that she had seen him, she didn't think it would last too long. After tonight it would only be a few days until it was time for Lord Stark to go down to King's Landing and take herself, Sansa and Arya with him. She would probably never even see Robb again.

She turned her gaze back on to the table and finished of the rest of her pie, every crumb was delicious and she used half a loaf of bread to soak up the gravy that had been left on the plate and tore into it, all that Lara wanted now was to go up to bed and slumber for the rest of the night. But she knew that she couldn't set off, at least not quite yet. It wouldn't look good if a ward of the Starks left before anyone else after all.

A commotion from one the lower tables my Lara turn and she frowned heavily when she saw Jon storming out of the great hall, Ghost dutifully trailing after him. She noticed Lord Stark's brother standing near the table where Jon had been sitting and that sight had only made her frown deepen, Jon had talked about joining the Night's Watch so that he could find some honour for himself but from the look of it seemed that his uncle had not reacted well to the request.

Lara was about to stand up and go after him when a lady dressed in fine green silks and cloth of gold who Lara had seen serving the Queen came up to her and informed her that the queen would like a word with her. She couldn't deny the queen, no one could and so Lara put Jon in the back of her mind for now and put a smile on her face as she followed the woman up to the dais.

The queen seemed even more beautiful every time you looked at her, her gown was a bright green with a belt of gold encircling her middle, rubies had been woven through her hair and they sparked in the orange glow of the torches. She was sitting next to Lady Stark and she held a golden goblet in one hand, she had been in the middle of taking a deep drink from it when her lady and Lara approached the dais.

The queen placed her goblet down on the table and smiled at her and Lara changed her mind, now she was even more beautiful than she had been before. She dismissed her lady with a word and held out her hand which Lara was quick to kiss as was only respectful to the queen. "Such a respectful and pleasant girl, some ladies in the south could take a lesson from you and Lady Sansa when it comes to their courtesies."

"Your grace is most kind to say such." Lara said with a smile, nerves of being at the high table and being spoken too by the queen sized hold of her and she tried to keep a firm grip of her courtesies.

"Hm, perhaps I am. I have heard that you will be accompanying Lord Stark and his daughters down to King's Landing?" Lara nodded in answered as the queen poured herself another cup of wine. "I imagine that you will be serving as one of my future gooddaughter's ladies in waiting?"

"Yes your grace." She had been one of Sansa's ladies for as long as she could remember, even if she hadn't ever been called that. She could remember brushing her hair as gently as though she had been running her fingers through it. There had been many a night then when Sansa's maids had been dismissed by her mother, Lara would sit on the end of the bed and watched how Lady Stark brushed it.

But once they were in King's Landing, Sansa would need proper ladies to attended to her. Lara would be one of them and Sansa promised that she would be chief among them, only one more would be coming with them from Winterfell but Sansa was going to be wed to the Crown prince of the realm and would be queen one day so it was more than likely that other noble ladies would flock to her side.

The other lady to come with them would be Jenye Poole, which gave Lara no shortage of joy to knew that she would be stuck with her for years and years. She would rather have Beth Cassel come with them but she was too young, too low of birth and her father wouldn't want her to go as Ser Rodrick had to stay in Winterfell as he was the master-at-arms.

"How fortunate for you, tell me, if you would be so kind, how did a girl of the Summer Islands find herself as a ward of Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell?" Something in the way the queen spoke suggested that it was not a question that Lara couldn't decline to answer, there was a hint of steel in her voice, sharp and cutting.

"My father was a prince of the Summer Isles, your grace. His brothers made bad decisions when their father died and we lost our holdings, I was only a babe at the time but my father managed to smuggle us out of the islands with the help of a few loyal men. We arrived in Westeros in King's Landing but my father feared that we were still to close to the isles, word reached him of the honourable Lord Eddard Stark and my father took a chance by throwing us on his mercy. Clearly, such a roll of the dice paid off."

The queen hummed as she took another sip of her wine. "And where is your father and his men now, may I ask?"

"I am afraid that I do not know your grace, I have not seen him in many a year." Lara decided that it would be best to not mention that the reason for that was that her father was off trying to find swords to take back their holdings, she wasn't sure how the queen would react to such news after all and she didn't want her to think that Lara was asking her for aid.

"Well then, how sad that is. I will pray for his safety and that he returns to you as soon as possible, thank you for speaking with me." Lara heard the dismissal even if it wasn't put into words and so she bowed her head and walked away from the dais, glancing at Robb as she went.

As soon as she sat back down at her table Sansa came up to her, apparently she had been able to pry herself away from her prince for long enough to come and speak with her. She was dressed in one of her favourite blue silks and her rich red hair was done in a style that was similar to the queen's, her blue eyes almost seemed to shine in the light of the torches. "The queen spoke to you! Isn't she lovely? And so graceful and kind, when I'm the queen I'm going to be just like her."

Lara nodded at every word that Sansa spoke, she loved Sansa like a sister but she could go on for hours when she got her mind into it. In truth, she honestly didn't think that Sansa could be like the queen, or rather she hoped that she wouldn't be. Underneath the cold coating of courtesy, Lara could sense an angry and hateful woman who had been trapped in a marriage that was clearly unhappy.

It wasn't her fault, if Lara had been married to the King and the King had been groping serving girls in his lap then Lara was certain that she would hate him as well. She didn't want that for Sansa, her sweet sister who believe that all life was a song and always loved it when singers came to Winterfell and once commanded her father to hold one poor old singer hostage.

Lara supposed that all she could do was hope that Prince Joffery was nothing like his father in that regard, he didn't look much like his father at all. He was still sitting at the dais and he was quite handsome, Lara could see why Sansa was so smitten with long curly golden hair and green eyes set in a pale face that almost looked like it had been carved out of porcelain, any children that they had would be beautiful but they wouldn't look much like any Baratheon's that Lara had ever seen, not that she had seen many.

Sansa had followed her gaze back to the table and Lara could tell that she wanted to go back to the dais and Lara begged her to go with a laugh and Sansa didn't not waste a single second at the table when she was sure that she could go without being rude. Lara waited for Sansa to be back at the high table before she stood up and made her way down the path to the doors of the grand hall, she wanted to check on Jon.

Before she could reach the doors however, they opened up and a gust of cold night air filled the hall. Tyrion Lannister, the Queen's brother and the Imp of Casterly Rock stood in the way. The light of the torches caused his shadow to stretch and it look taller than the man it belonged too. He was an ugly little man, it could not be denied. His head was swollen and too big for his body and his limbs were short and stunted, his forehead jutted forward and his eyes were mismatched, one a brilliant Lannister green and the other was as black as night.

She placed a smile on her face to try and show that she was not as uncomfortable as she was, she approached and dipped into a small curtsey and greeted him with a quiet "My lord."

Tyrion Lannister stared into her for a few moments before a wicked grin crossed over his face that made Lara want to run and hide before he replied. "My lady." And with that it was over and the little lion waddled up to the dais, Lara didn't stop to see what place he would take as she had already spun on her feet and walked outside into the cold and the dark, shutting the doors behind her.

A part of her felt guilty, how many times had she been shunned here at Winterfell for looking different that everyone else? Jeyne Poole and Theon Greyjoy's cruel words echoing around in her head in the dark when she quietly cried herself to sleep as a child so that she would not wake Sansa from her sweet dreams of noble ladies and handsome knights and courtiers dressed in silks and lace.

But Tyrion Lannister was just so, he scared her somewhat. He looked almost like a demon, the eyes were the most terrifying thing about him. She shook her head and tried to shake the thoughts from her head, he was the son of a great lord and thus demanded her respect and she had been polite to him, she didn't need to give him any more than that and he didn't need her love and she had none to give him.

Tyrion Lannister fled from her mind when she spied Jon, standing next to his great white direwolf. The creatures unsettled most in Winterfell, Lady was a gentle and well manned creature just as her mistress but Shaggydog, the great black one that followed baby Rickon around, was the most terrifying of the creatures and often it had snarled at her.

Bran's had no name as of yet but the creature was as sweet as the boy it followed, Arya's she-wolf named Nymeria, after the warrior queen of the Rhoynar, was as disobedient and strong as Arya herself and Lara couldn't deny that she did find it a bit amusing that for the first time Arya might knew slightly what it felt like that she had a wolf that wouldn't obey her as she wouldn't obey her mother and Septa Mordane.

Of all the direwolves Robb's, Grey Wind, was her favourite. It was the biggest of the pups and was growing fast and when it wasn't with Robb, the pup was most often with her. One day, during a breakfast in the great hall, it had come up to her and placed it's head into her lap and Lara had fed it scraps of bacon from her plate and Robb had come to sit by her side.

Another time Robb had come bursting into the chamber where Septa Mordane held their sewing lesson, nearly crying as he exclaimed that he couldn't find Grey Wind but he calmed once he saw that his wolf was sleeping at her feet. Sadly, Septa Mordane never did calm down about it and did ask Robb to take the wolf away and he had been needing to keep a closer eye to make sure that Grey Wind wouldn't wander as the wolves did scare the Princess Myrcella.

Jon's wolf was different, he had been named Ghost for while pure white fur and red eyes and for the fact that he made no noise. No barks or growls, even when he made the motions of doing so no noise escape from his great more. Even the wind seemed to swallow up the sound of his paws padding against the ground. It was quite unsettling, in truth.

The direwolf was the first to notice her approaching and Jon turned his head to look at her, his skin turned a pale red as he looked down at his feet. "Did father tell you to come and speak with me? Or did uncle Benjen send you instead?"

"No one sent me, I saw that you were upset and I wanted to come and see that you were alright." Lara stepped closer and sat on an upturned barrel and she rubbed at her arms, trying to ward of the chill. Jon noticed it and placed his cloak over her and Lara gave him her thanks as the extra layer did a great deal to offer her some comfort. "Are you?"

Jon nodded as he sunk down to run her fingers through Ghost's fur, the direwolf standing still as a statue and his eyes unblinking. "I'm fine, uncle Benjen just said that I should sire some bastards before I throw my life away." Jon sounded bitter and Lara could understand why, Jon had all his father's honour and would never want to sire a bastard on anyone and as a bastard, even one from a great house, there was little life that he could have. The wall was one of his only, and his best, option.

"It doesn't matter what he thinks." Lara said, trying to offer him some comfort. When Jon turned to look at her Lara continued. "He might be the first ranger but if you got a horse and rode up to the Wall and swore the vows, he couldn't turn you away. The Night's Watch needs as many men as it can get." The were nearly twenty castles on the Wall and only three were manned, if she recalled correctly.

That seemed to cheer Jon somewhat and she was rewarded for her efforts with a hug and a smile before he took Ghost and made his way back into the hall, he held the door open for her but she was tired and told him that she was retiring for the night. Jon let her go with a nod and stepped into the hall. And like that, Lara was alone in the cold dark.

She sat on the barrel for a few moments and stared up into the cool dark night, watching the distant light of the stars twinkling down at her for a few moments before she found that she really did need to turn in for the night. She leapt off of the barrel and made her way over to the First Keep, the pie and the ale having filled her belly and made her bones ache with a blissful tiredness.

When she made it to her room, Robb was waiting for her on her bed. His chest bare and blue eyes twinkling in the candle light. Her mind was screaming at her, telling her to tell him to get out of her room, that this was insanity and would only lead to terrible consequences and that all would be horrible and he would ruin both of their lives and if he truly loved her than he would leave her.

But she said none of that, she simply stared at him for a few moments before she turned and shut her chamber door.

She turned back to face Robb and he smiled at her before he knelt, and blew out the candle light.

End of Chapter Seven.

* * *

 **Another chapter gone and things are going to really start kicking off in a couple of moments.**

 **I'd just like to talk about Lara's reaction to Tyrion, keep in mind that Westeros is an ableist society and many find themselves disgusted or uncomfortable by Tyrion, even characters that we see as our heroes and I wanted to show that, even Lara who has suffered her own prejudice, is not immune to it.**

 **Please follow, favourite and review if you enjoyed this chapter. Constructive criticism is always welcome.**

 **With much love,**

 **Doctorwhofan12345**


	9. Chapter 8

Queen of Summer, King of Winter

Chapter Eight

Her stomach felt as though it was trying to eat it's self. Like a thousand beetles was rooting through her guts and feasting on her innards. She had made a mistake, she had made a terrible mistake and Lara had known that long before the guards had broken down her door and pointed their spears at them. It was all her fault, all her fault.

She was standing in Lord Stark's solar and was dressed in a shapeless light grey shift, it was made of thick wool but even despite that the cold of the north seeped through and made her rub at her arms, though she imagined that it was just as likely due to the fear. She had never been afraid of Lord or Lady Stark before but she was afraid of the both of them right now.

What ever happened next, she knew that she couldn't stay in Winterfell. That thought made her stomach clench, she had never known another home than Winterfell and the truth was that Lord and Lady Stark were the closest things that she had to parents in the whole world and she had ruined it all in a moment of weakness. She wanted to weep, she wanted to dig herself a hole in the ground and crawl into it and never come out at all again.

And when Lara thought of Robb, of what her mistake might have cost him, she wanted to climb to top of the tallest tower in Winterfell and cast herself off of it or go out into the wolfswood and dig a hole and climb into it and never ever come out of it. But she almost knew that Lord Stark's disappointment would be more than she could bare if she had tried to run away.

She wanted to sleep and pretend that it was all just a horrible dream, but she knew that wouldn't make it go away. When the door opened and Eddard Stark, the Lord of Winterfell, Lord Paramount of the North, Warden of the North and the newly named Hand of the King walked into his solar, she started to have second thoughts on the benefits of running away.

He didn't look at her at all as he walked around the desk and sat down in his chair behind it, bringing his fingers together in the shape of a pyramid, his eyes falling closed. He didn't say anything and that was the worst of it. After a moment he let out sigh and began to speak, his words heavy with sorrow and for just a moment, he looked half an old man. "I truly do not know where I am supposed to begin."

Lara wanted to weep at the disappointment in his tone but she found that the tears has frozen inside of her body by the fear, she knew that she would be punished for what had happened but now that it was actually about to happen all she wanted to do was drop to her knees and beg for mercy but she didn't do that, her fear almost seemed to have made her knees lock up as tight as a castle gate.

Lord Eddard stared at her then, his eyes almost seeming to bore into her and seeing all she had done up to this point in her life. She knew it was silly but it almost seemed that he could see all that she had done wrong in her life, from when she had stolen an entire tray of apple and strawberry tarts from the kitchen and had eaten all of them by herself.

She had hidden the tray after she was done and all that was left were crumbs, but she knew that she was found out when she felt so sick after that she couldn't get up from her bed or come down to dinner. She wasn't punished for it but she imagined that was only because that her stomach was so upset that Lord and Lady Stark had thought that she had brought her own punishment on to herself.

Needless to say, she doubted that she would be getting off so easily this time because she felt miserable. She said nothing to Lord Eddard's words, just kept her gaze down at her feet as she waited for him to speak. Lord Eddard sighed once again and Lara heard the sound of a chair's legs scraping against the stone floor.

And when she looked up, Lord Eddard had disappeared and Lord Stark had taken his place. When he spoke, there was no hint of the warmth that he had always held for her or even the disappointment there had just been a moment ago. All that was left, was the blunt cold chill of Winter's wrath. "You know to stay away from Robb, you knew that it could never be. Even if I might not have had any personal objection...Robb is my heir, he needs to marry someone who will strength the rest of the North. I truly did expect better of you."

She tried to speak then, she truly did. She tried to tell him that Robb had come to her, he had come to her room and her bed and that she had tried, she had tried to get him to keep away from her, to make it easier for both of them when the time came that she would go south and more as like never see him again. But none of the words would come to her, her throat had tightened up and her tongue had turned as hard as stone and the words would not come.

But Lord Stark seemed to be able to read her thoughts as his face softened somewhat and he let out another weary sounding sigh, rubbing at his eyes once again. "I know that you are not fully at fault at this Lara, Robb shares some of if not most of the blame himself. The truth of it is though that most are not going to see it like that, word has spread through Winterfell and out into the Winter's Town. It will spread from there and soon will be told of every corner of the north, a jest to be whispered into their cups."

"I've decided that we are to go south as soon as possible, his Grace the king wants a hunt this morning and thus we will need to oblige him but as soon as that is done, we shall begin our packing and travel south as soon as we can and as fast as we can." Lord Eddard walked around the solar and placed one hand on her shoulder and another under her chin, making her look up at him. When he spoke, his voice was as soft as the summer snow and there was only kindness in his eyes. "Word will reach the court, but I promise you. I will make sure that the match is the best that I can make for you, to someone strong and gentle and kind."

It was kindly meant and better than she could expect from anyone else, and she loved him for it but she found that it did not truly warm her or make the disappointment or the fear or the sadness go away. Lara's hand came up to brush her tears away and after a moment, she finally found her voice. "My Lord, forgive me, but if there...if I have a child?"

Lord Stark was silent then and she wondered what must have been going through his head, he had brought a bastard of his own home from when he had marched off to war and now his own son might have a bastard of his own as well. She wondered if he felt shame at Robb as well, if this was some sort of punishment. "If there is a child, well I will do what I can. I promise you that, when it is born I will send the child back north to Winterfell where he or she will always have a place."

Again, it was beyond generous and her love for him only grew but if she did have a child then she didn't want it sent back north in the dead of night so she would have a better chance at getting a decent marriage. If she was going to have a child then she wanted it to be with Robb, she could almost see the babe. With dusky skin and her curls and Robb's nose and deep blue eyes, she wanted Robb to hold them and to smile at her with pride and love at the child she had given him. She never wanted to stop giving him children.

But she wasn't stupid enough to believe that would ever happen, she was going to see Robb ever again. She knew that. Lara brushed her tears away once again and spoke, clearing her throat. "Thank you my lord, that is more than I deserve. I know. May I simply ask a question, Lady Stark. Does she...does she hate me?"

And the thought of that was almost too much for her to bear, she remembered one of her earliest memories when she was still just a tiny girl and had been doing her first bit of needlework with Sansa and Jeyne Poole, she had jabbed her finger too hard with one of the needles and she had cried at the pain and when Jeyne had laughed at her, she had jumped out of her chair and ran out of the room even as Sansa and Septa Mordane had called after her and told her to come back.

She remembered that she had hidden in a small cupboard then, the time had seemed to pass for hours as she cried silently. The tears never seemed to stop coming and whenever it seemed like they might stop, they started up again when she thought that no one was looking for her. And yet at the same time, she didn't want anyone to find her, she didn't want to be yelled at.

The doors of the cupboard opened up then and she had curled into a tiny little ball but that hadn't stopped Lady Stark from reaching in to pull her out of the cupboard and holding her tight to her. She had carried her all the way to Maester Luwin's tower, kissing her forehead and soothing her and wiping away her tears with every step she took, and then had kissed her finger before Maester Luwin had cleaned it and bandaged it for her.

She had taken hold of her hand and lead her back to the sewing chamber and had given Jeyne a sharp warning that being cruel was beneath a lady's dignity. Perhaps it was but Lara couldn't deny that she took satisfaction in the fact of Jeyne's chastisement. Jeyne was the steward's daughter and that always meant that she was above her and never missed any chance to make her feel even more miserable.

She had loved Lady Stark from that day onward, she had never had a mother of her own but Lady Stark had been the closest thing that she had ever had to one even though she never treated her as warmly as she did her own children. She had always treated Lara more warmly and like she had belonged far more than she ever did Theon, or even Jon.

The thought of her hating her, it hurt more than she dared to think off. Like a rusty knife was digging through her chest. How much had this stupid mistake actually cost her?

"She doesn't hate you, she's not happy with you I will not lie to you on that score but she's as unhappy with Robb as she is with you. Lady Catelyn is with Robb right now and is trying to make him understand the severity of what he has done to himself, but also what he might have done to you as well." Lord Eddard spoke and she had to wonder, not for the first time, what sort of woman Jon's mother was if she had managed to make Lord Eddard Stark forget his honour.

She must have been something special, but Jon gave no clues as to who his mother was just by looking at him. He looked more like Lord Stark than any of his trueborn brothers. "I am glad to hear that my Lord. Am I free to go?" She hoped that she was, she needed some air.

Lord Stark nodded and gestured for her to go, once she was outside the chamber and she had shut the door, she leaned against it and shut her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. All she wanted to do was climb into her bed and sleep until it was finally time for them to make their way to the capital but she knew that she couldn't, she had something she needed to do.

As she walked through the stone corridors of the first keep, she could almost feel the eyes of every passing servant boring into her and whispering among themselves. She felt like she was enduring a walk of shame, it was just as Lord Eddard had said. If everyone in Winterfell didn't know about what had happened by now then it wouldn't be long before the entire castle did know.

Perhaps heading south would prove to be a blessing disguise when it came to it, most in the capital wouldn't know and those that did hear about it wouldn't care at all. She walked through the courtyard, striding towards the gate that would lead into the godswood.

The godswood had never felt welcoming to her, it was dark and cold and there was always the sense of something. Like someone was watching her, judging her and finding her wanting. The old gods did not want her here but at the moment she didn't care what any of them thought, god or no. She sat in front of the weirwood on the stump of an oak, staring out into the steaming black pond.

Lara sat in silence for a time, the day seeming to drag slowly and slowly on until the sound of a branch snapping under foot drew her attention. Robb hurried into the clearing and came over to her, throwing his arms around her and kissing her deeply on the lips before kissing her on the forehead. "Are you alright? My Father didn't hurt you did he?"

Lara frowned at that, he didn't honestly think that his father would hurt her, why would he even do that? Still, all she did in response to his question was to shake her head and give Robb what she hoped was a comforting smile. Robb returned it and kissed her again and then sat down next to her. "My mother told me that she was disappointed in me, but that doesn't matter to me. I don't give a damn shit about any of it, she told me all the shame that comes with having a bastard, the dishonour, well, I know a way to get around that."

He smiled at her and snowflakes began to fall from the overcast sky and they landed in his copper curls, melting from the warmth of his body. Truly he was the most beautiful man in the world, and then he knelt for her and took hold of her hand. "I asked you this before, and you told me no. But here we are, wed me tonight. Father won't break it up, he can't."

In that moment, Lara wanted nothing more than to say yes. She wanted to give herself to him, to feel the cloak of his protection coming over her shoulders and let her child, if there was one, to be true born and to lay in his bed and to lay with him without any shame. But when she looked into his blue eyes, so earnest and trusting, she knew that she had to be the strong one. "I won't."

Robb opened his mouth to complain, to argue and to fight and to make his case, Lara pressed her fingertip to his lips and shook her head, feeling her control beginning to weaken and she looked into his eyes. "Robb, No. We can't, I know you love me and I love you. But we can't, it would be the biggest mistake of your life. You would come to resent me and I don't think I could bear it. If you really, truly love me, then get up on your feet, turn around and leave me. I won't change my mind."

Robb stared at her for a moment in disbelief, he looked down for a moment he got to his feet and stalked away. Lara watched him go for a moment before she shut her eyes and tilted her head back, allowing her tears to run down her cheeks, the snowflakes melting along the salty tracks of her tears.

She stayed there in the clearing, not moving as she listened to the wind below through the red leaves of the weirwood, rustling them and the noise echoed all around her and off in the distance, a wolf started to howl off in the distance.

And then the screaming started.

End of Chapter Eight.

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 **With much love,**

 **DiscordantSymphony**


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